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2 blackdogmedialtd.com Mining Liquid Gold “We’re all paying top-dollar for fake extra-virgin olive oil,” proclaims Lisa- Ann Marchesi, who goes by “LA” among friends. Marchesi is one of the two owners of the Main Line-based Bella D’Oliva (belladolivausa.com), an importer of small-batch extra-virgin olive oil. Thus, the proclamation. But it’s more than a wild haymaker thrown at the competition. Tom Mueller exposed widespread fraud throughout the industry in his 2011 book, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. It was a Times bestseller, but you’re excused if this is arriving as news to you. “We learned early on how little consumers know about authenticity,” says Marchesi (pictured, right). Which, she goes on to say, is why she and her partner, Wendy Diehl (left), took it upon themselves to do right by you. Whether you appreciate it or not. Supermarket olive oils, for the most part, land on the shelves old (fresh is best), mistreated (light and heat are enemies) and, in extreme cases, under a false identity. In those bottles, the olive oil is cut with the likes of cheaper canola oil. “One producer offered to re-label last year’s oil and sell it to us cheap,” Diehl says. They passed, of course. Instead, they set off in pursuit of purity, person- ally interviewing growers and touring olive groves. They even lent a hand in harvesting some of the olives. Sure, it was a bucket-list experience. It was also a massive investment with no promise that it would bear a worthwhile return. The thing is, even if you knew none of that, if you stumbled across a distinctive Bella D’Oliva bottle, drizzled a little over the tip of your index finger and sucked it down, you’d know this was something different. A revelation, even if your reference points are minimal. Aumentare tastes of walnut and citrus. Adornare is a rich, buttery oil with an herbal aftertaste. Indulgere is the live wire of the bunch—pep- pery, intense. Though, each is bracing in its own way. A spoonful will burn your throat, force tears to well up behind your eyelids. The complex, always-evolving flavors will linger and dance on your tongue several min- utes afterward. When was the last time you can say that about anything you ate? —MIKE MADAIO INSIDE: 50 > Home Cooking 52 > Locavore 54 > Best-kept Secret 58 > Side Order 60 > Charcuterie 62 > Canned 66 > The Last Word EATS. PHOTO BY MATTHEW J. RHEIN
